EDITORNATHANGAN |

TUESDAY, NOV. 26,2019 |

THE VOICE

Campusnews

Just a
Friday
for

some

Retail survey
says Black Friday
booming but not
all buying in

= By RAY CHOPPING

ome Vancouver stores are
S gearing up for Black Friday,
but some local consumers
don't believe those deals are all that.

According to a Retail Council
of Canada survey taken earlier this
month, almost 43 per cent of Ca-
nadians said they would likely be
taking advantage of the Black Fri-
day sales this year - something the
big stores will be
looking to cash in
on.

“Black Friday
offers amazing
deals and Cana-
dians love deals,”
Anne DeWolfe,

a marketing in-

Anne DeWolfe

structor at Lan-
NO NCTRUCTOR gara College said.
DeWolfe said

Canadian compa-
nies saw this huge sales phenom-
enon south of the border and de-
cided to jump on board.

Anjee Gill is the communica-
tions specialist for Best Buy Can-
ada and said that there are more
deals to be had this year than ever
before, “We will have hundreds of
items on sale.”

Best Buy first introduced Black

“T'm more likely to
buy something on
Cyber Monday.”

— GURSEWAK SINGH, LANGARA STUDENT

Friday to its Canadian stores back
in 2012 when they only had 30
items on sale, Gill said.

The RCC survey also showed
that Black Friday in Canada has
now surpassed the traditional Box-
ing Day sales as Canada’s number
one sales event.

However, not all Vancouver cus-
tomers are buying into the hype.

Anthony Kegaly, a marketing
consultant for Salesmatter in Van-
couver said he was surprised by the
growth of Black Fridays popularity
being that it was an exclusively a
U.S. Thanksgiving pre-holiday sale,
“[I] won't be running out to pur-
chase an item just because it’s Black
Friday,” Kegaly said.

Vancouver resident David Gao
lives next door to the Best Buy
on Granville Street, and said that
while he always buys in store, he
wasnt planning on buying anything
this coming Black Friday.

“T don't see too much difference
between Black Friday and the nor-
mal sales,” Gao said.

Gursewak Singh, a computer
studies student at Langara College,
said he also will not be buying any-
thing, due to more applicable spe-
cial sales.

Nace

,
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The "Build Your Own Wellness Kits" station, provided by the Langara's Office of Student Engagement as a part of the college's De-stress Fest, showcases a
customizable spread of self-care products, including razors and menstrual pads. | UREN GARGIULO PHOTO

Period products promised

NDP mandates free menstrual products in public buildings

= By LAUREN GARGIULO

he province is support-

ing a campaign that re-

quires all public build-

ings, such as Langara
College, to provide free menstrual
products after passing a resolution
this weekend at the NDP conven-
tion.

‘This new requirement is in addi-
tion to a grant of $95,000 given to
United Way of the Lower Main-
land to help low-income individu-
als access menstrual products.

Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
is one of the 12 organizations in
the Lower Mainland that was given
money from this grant.

The Kiwassa organization said
that before they were given the
grant, they already had a free tam-

pon dispenser set up, but the dif-
ference between a dispenser that
dispenses one tampon at a time and
the option to get a month’s sup-
ply at a time
makes a huge
difference for
people experi-
encing poverty.

“Tt[the
grant] is a
huge help and
they [menstru-
al products]
are expensive
products,” An- L—
drea ‘Thompson, Kiwassa’s director
of operations, said. “It can really
help with promoting dignity. We
have some folks who are living on
or near the street who are access-
ing programs here, and these things

“Tackling period
poverty is one way we
are trying to makea
difference in ensuring
no one is left behind.”

—MABLE ELMORE, PARLIMENTARY SECRETARY

are expensive.”

“The cost and availability of men-
strual products is a real concern for
people experiencing poverty,” Par-
liamentary
secretary
Mable EI-
more said.

“Tack-
ling period
poverty is
one way
we are
trying to
make a

__| difference
in ensuring no one is left behind.”

The Voice has reached out to
Dwayne Doornbosch, the director
of facilities at Langara who said
he could not respond at this time,
as he is still reviewing this update

A woman uses the menstrual vending machine in the women's bathroom at Langara College. Each tampon costs 25
cents each, but the purchase requirement comes to the detriment of women in tight situations. issy JoHNSON PHOTO

with his team.

‘The Office for Student Engage-
ment, also known as The Hub, of-
fered products including tampons
and pads that students can have for
free as part of a customizable “well-
ness kit” during exam time.

The Hub’s department assistant
Jennifer Riley said that menstrual
products should be accessible to “all
vagina bearing people.”

Currently, Langara has menstrual
vending machines that cost 25 cents
per tampon. Although the women's
bathrooms have these machines,
they aren't always convenient.

“There’s so many times where
T'll be going to the bathroom and
it'll just come and I won't have any
[money] on me,” Tiffany McKech-
nie, a Langara student, said. “It’s
just an extra level of panic.”

PERIODIC TIMELINE

LANDMARK MOMENTS OF THE
MOVEMENT

9 Feb. 2018 nop passes

resolution to make feminine
hygiene products in Canada
free.

Oct. 2018 women's

Advisory Committee at the City
of Vancouver passes motion
recommending to council to
work on getting free tampons
in schools, government service
centres and shelters.

Feb. 2019 New westmin-

ster school board votes to sup-
ply free tampons in schools.

Mar. 2019 a.c. govern-

ment reveals that schools
are required to supply free
tampons and pads by the end
the year.

SOURCE: LANGARAVOICE.CA

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